The following entry was written be Graduate Diploma (Primary) student on her first practicum. It was the first entry submitted following the first week of practicum.
What level do you think this is?
Journal Entry
For the last few Thursdays I have been basically observing the teaching styles and classroom strategies that my supervising teacher has been using. It's been from this that I have seen a variety of ways in which you can get the attention of the children in often small and subtle ways (I mean without yelling and screaming threats at the children to be quiet) during activities and or between activities.
I'm in a lower grade and I find it can be very frustrating trying to get the children to either listen to your instructions or to get their full attention. It was from this frustration that I looked more closely at the techniques my supervising teacher used.
During a lesson of mine I put into practice a few strategies that I had seen. The following are some examples of how I have been using a variety of classroom strategies to get and keep the attention of students:
- By clapping a particular beat, the children have to repeat it. Thus an attention seeker
- By lowering my voice the children have to quieten down to hear my instructions
- By using a firmer (slightly louder tone) when someone may be doing something really wrong or dangerous. Or
- By saying "do this" — start doing an action e.g. touching your shoulders which the children then follow, continue this and then say 'Do that'
I followed by an action the children are not meant to follow, if they do they're out. This is an excellent way to get the children's attention as they all want to join in.